Wade, Bosh and James too hot for Knicks

AFP, MIAMI

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, center, goes up for a dunk as New York Knicks guard Landry Fields, left, looks on in the first quarter of Game 2 of their first-round NBA Eastern Conference playoff series in Miami, Florida, on Monday.

Photo: Reuters

Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, while Chris Bosh added 21 points and LeBron James added 19 to power the Miami Heat over the New York Knicks 104-94 on Monday, extending the Knicks’ NBA playoff winless streak to 12 games.

The Knicks suffered their 12th playoff loss in a row over multiple seasons, having not won a playoff game since 2001, to match the record NBA playoff losing streak established by the Memphis Grizzlies from 2004 through 2006.

Miami seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, with Game 3 scheduled for tomorrow in New York.

“We’ve just got to withstand anything they throw at us and find a way to get it done,” Wade said.

In the night’s other Eastern Conference playoff matchup, Indiana had 18 points each from David West, Danny Granger and George Hill in a 93-78 rout of visiting Orlando to level their series 1-1.

In Miami, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Amare Stoudemire added 18 points for the Knicks, who managed only one basket from the field in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter as the Heat pulled ahead 92-77 and coasted to the finish.

Wade scored 19 points in the first half, countering 21 points by Anthony in the first half and igniting the Heat attack.

“I just wanted to be aggressive from the start,” Wade said. “Last game, I started to get my legs under me. Early on, I wanted to be aggressive and I got a couple of shots to go.”

James added a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds for Miami.

To make thing worse for the Knicks, Stoudemire suffered severe cuts to his left hand after punching a small glass window in front of a fire extinguisher following the loss.

As a result of his actions in a moment of frustration, Stoudemire’s status for the remainder of the series is uncertain. He left the arena with a bandaged hand and his left arm in a sling.

“I am so mad at myself right now,” Stoudemire posted on his Twitter page. “I want to apologize to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start.”

In Indianapolis, the Pacers rebounded from a loss to snap a six-game win streak in Indiana by the Magic, although most of those triumphs came with now-injured All-Star center Dwight Howard in the Orlando lineup.

The Pacers outscored Orlando 51-34 in the second half, denying the Magic on a second-quarter run and adapting to dominate the second half.

“We were able to handle their run early in the second and we made some adjustments in the third quarter,” West said. “I thought our aggressiveness was the difference.”

Game 3 in the series is scheduled for today in Orlando.

“More than anything, we have to be aggressive,” West said. “We have a bunch of guys who can make plays. We just have to step up and do that in the fourth quarter.”